Category: Articles

Yesha leaders are urging Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to end the de facto freeze on large-scale building projects in Judea and Samaria maintained over the last few years.

In a letter to Bennett, David Elhayani, the chairman of the Yesha Council, noted that five months have passed since any new housing permits were issued for Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria.

“Mr. Prime Minister, the Higher Planning Committee has not convened in the last five months to advance or permit housing plans in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley,” Elhayani wrote. “We request that the residents of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley not suffer or be discriminated against in any matter regarding the advancement of plans. There are many housing plans which have been waiting a long time for approval. Therefore, the Higher Planning Committee should be convened as soon as possible to advance them.”

Yes, the status quo maintained over the years permitting construction should resume immediately. Any delays to expand housing in Judea and Samaria – legally owned Israeli land – only hurts the residents who live there and there’s no reason for them to hold them in limbo.

Source:
Settlement leaders urge Bennett to end building freeze, by Arutz Sheva, June 18, 2021

Firefighters battled four blazes in southern Israel Wednesday that were sparked by balloon-borne incendiary devices launched from the Gaza Strip. This terror activity has taken place for the second day in a row under the recent “ceasefire.”

The fires, all located in the Eshkol region, were small and posed no risk to nearby communities, the Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement.

The IDF struck Hamas military targets in Gaza after midnight on Wednesday in response to Tuesday’s arson attacks, which caused 26 fires in southern border towns.

The retaliatory airstrikes were the first since Naftali Bennett took over Sunday as premier. The Yamina chairman has long insisted that the IDF’s response to arson attacks should be the same as for rocket fire.

AFSI applauds Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for treating the balloon arson on the same level as rockets launched into Israel. Striking back at Hamas military targets defends Israel’s security and Sovereignty.

Source:
Incendiary balloons from Gaza spark fires in south for second day in a row, by Times of Israel Staff, June 16, 2021

 

The new coalition concluded the meeting of the Knesset Arrangement Committee without a vote on the law prohibiting the reunification of families of Israeli Arabs and Palestinian Authority residents.

The law is designed to prevent Arabs from entering into fictitious marriages for the purpose of freely entering Israel. The law was also passed with Israel’s security in mind.

The United Arab List (Ra’am) faction opposes the law and Meretz representatives have opposed it in the past. This is a law that has been extended for two decades with the support of all parties in the national camp.

The Likud and haredi factions currently intend to oppose the extension of the law. MK Miki Zohar from the Likud even sent a message to the Bennett-Lapid coalition that a bloc of Netanyahu supporters will vote in favor of extending the law if the coalition supports the regulation of the ‘young settlements.’

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced that she would be bringing the extension of the family reunification ban to a Knesset vote next Monday, even though it appears that the government will lack a majority to pass it. “I refuse to believe that the Opposition will damage the security of the State in the name of playing political games,” she wrote on Twitter. “I have no doubt that the head of the opposition will keep the promises he made as regards Israel’s security. There is no opposition and coalition in matters such as these – we’re all on the same page here.”

We pray the new coalition remains strong and remembers that Israel’s security and Sovereignty must remain a priority.

Sources:
Unity coalition’s first internal disagreement, by Arutz Sheva Staff, June 16, 2021

More coalition headaches – this time from Meretz, by Hezki Baruch/Arutz Sheva, June 17, 2021

 

The Regavim movement sent a letter to Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the Civil Administration (that has authority over Judea and Samaria). Regavim is demanding that they take immediate action to enforce Israeli law and prevent the paving of a strategic road that would link two key villages under Palestinian Authority control.

The two villages in question are Battir, south-west of Jerusalem, and Husan, further south-west and just moments away from the haredi city of Beitar, both located in the Gush Etzion bloc in the Judean Hills. The Palestinian Authority is planning to pave a road that runs from Har Gilo, just outside the capital, and links areas of illegal expansion north of Battir all the way south to Husan.

Eytan Mellet, Regavim’s coordinator of activities in Judea and Samaria, filmed the areas concerned on Thursday morning, and explained the special significance of the road that would link Battir and Husan. He stressed that the road creates a strategic corridor through land that is ostensibly under full Israeli control, land that links Jerusalem to the Gush Etzion bloc, and that the paving of the road would create a de facto situation in which the Palestinian Authority takes control over this area instead.

The head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Shlomo Ne’eman, added that this specific case perfectly illustrates the ongoing attempts of the Palestinian Authority to create facts on the ground and continuity of Arab settlement across swathes of State-held land. “The paving of this road constitutes yet another attempt to harm Israeli sovereignty,” he said. “We have to stop this yesterday already and prevent them from establishing a state under our very noses. The issue of protecting State-held lands and enforcing laws against illegal construction, takeovers, and infiltrations is something that should be at the top of the government’s agenda.”

 

Source:
Illegal Arab construction plans slice through Gush Etzion bloc, by Ido Ben Porat/Arutz Sheva, June 17, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a history-making vote, Israel’s 36th government was sworn in at the Knesset on Sunday. Yamina chair Naftali Bennett was installed as prime minister and Benjamin Netanyahu was ousted after 12 years of consecutive rule as premier.

MKs voted by a wafer-thin 60-59 in favor of the new government, made up of right-wing, left-wing, centrist, and Islamist parties that came together to oust Netanyahu and end two years of political deadlock.

One MK, Ra’am’s Saeed al-Harumi, abstained from the vote, in a protest centered on the demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev. Three MKs from the predominantly Arab Joint List — Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi and Osama Saadi — stayed out of the chamber until the votes were initially counted, ready to abstain if necessary to ensure the coalition was elected but, entered to vote against once it was clear that the required simple majority was assured.

Here is the new Cabinet Ministers list of who’s who:

• Alternate Prime Minister/Foreign Affairs: Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid)
• Deputy Prime Minister/Defense: Benny Gantz (Blue and White)
• Deputy Prime Minister/Justice: Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope)
• Finance: Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu)
• Education: Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope)
• Interior: Ayelet Shaked (Yamina)
• Health: Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz)
• Transportation: Merav Michaeli (Labor)
• Environmental Protection: Tamar Zandberg (Meretz)
• Public Security: Omer Bar-Lev (Labor)
• Communications: Yoaz Hendel (New Hope)
• Economy: Orna Barbivay (Yesh Atid)
• Labor; Social Services and Social Affairs: Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid)
• Energy: Karin Elharrar (Yesh Atid)
• Diaspora Affairs: Nachman Shai (Labor)
• Intelligence Services: Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid)
• Tourism: Yoel Razvozov (Yesh Atid)
• Religious Affairs: Matan Kahana (Yamina)
• Culture and Sports: Chili Tropper (Blue and White)
• Aliyah and Integration: Pnina Tamano-Shata (Blue and White)
• Agriculture and Negev and Galilee Development: Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu)
• Construction, Ministerial Liaison to the Knesset: Ze’ev Elkin (New Hope)
• Regional Cooperation: Essawi Frej (Meretz)
• Science and Technology: Orit Farkash Hacohen (Blue and White)
• Social Equity: Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid)
• Minister in the Finance Ministry: Hamed Amar (Yisrael Beytenu)
• Knesset Speaker: Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid)
• Finance Committee chairman: Alex Kushnir (Yisrael Beytenu)
• Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman: Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid)
• Law and Constitution Committee chairman: Rabbi Gilad Kariv (Labor)
• Aliyah and Diaspora Affairs Committee chairman: Yair Golan (Meretz)

Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the ‘right-wing bloc’ Monday and announced that the bloc’s mission would be to bring down the government which was inaugurated last night. “We have a very strong opposition – 53 MKs, who are cohesive and strong to overthrow this dangerous left-wing government, this fraudulent government. It will fall quickly and I will tell you why: the only thing that connects them is hatred, exclusion and power. It is impossible to have such a government.” Netanyahu stated.

AFSI congratulates Israel’s new government and wishes it hatzlacha. We would be remiss if we did not state our concerns and expectations. At the very top of our priority list we hope that they will 1) Not establish a two-state solution; 2) Continue to fight to keep Iran from re-entering the nuclear deal; 3) Not cave in to Arab demands for land grabs 4) Not freeze the building and development of new homes in Judea and Samaria; 5) WILL DECLARE SOVEREIGNTY OVER JUDEA AND SAMARIA.

Of course we must acknowledge the huge debt of gratitude we owe to Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for his many years of service and for his many successes bringing Israel to where it is on the world stage today. We also give our heartfelt thanks to all the ministers and MKs who served tirelessly with him over the years; fighting to defend Israel’s legal rights and her Sovereignty. May you all go from strength to strength.

Sources:
Bennett sworn in as prime minister, unseating Netanyahu after 12 years in power, by Raoul Wootliff/Times of Israel, June 13, 2021

Netanyahu: We will bring down this left-wing government as soon as possible, by Arutz Sheva Staff, June 14, 2021

Israel’s 36th gov’t: Here is the list of new cabinet ministers, by Gil Hoffman/Jerusalem Post, June 13, 2021

Israel’s new government will be faced with one of its first challenges on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s “Day of rage,” announced by the Palestinian factions.

The “Day of Rage” was declared for Judea and Samaria, Eastern Jerusalem and the mixed Jewish and Arab cities inside Israel.

Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction warned of an escalation of violence if the right-wing flag march that received police permission would pass through the Muslim quarter of Old City of Jerusalem, the Lebanese Al Akhbar daily newspaper reported Monday.

Israel security forces, including the IDF, are on alert. Will this become the new norm in Israel every time Israel holds an event that is their lawful right to do so? We hope not.

Source:
Government to face first challenge with Palestinian ‘Day of Rage’, by Eli Senior/Ynetnews.com, June 14, 2021

 

The leaders of the “change bloc’s” Yamina, New Hope and Yesh Atid parties met Tuesday night to sort out remaining differences. This Sunday the new government is set to be approved and sworn in.

Naftali Bennett, Gideon Sa’ar and Yair Lapid agreed that New Hope’s Ze’ev Elkin will be appointed minister in charge of liaison between the Knesset and government. The news came after reports that Elkin had set new conditions for supporting the government — specifically the formation of a new body to oversee enforcement of alleged illegal construction by Palestinians in the West Bank’s Area C.

In a joint statement, the parties called the reports “ridiculous spin.”

The eight-party “change government” alliance, headed by Bennett and Lapid, anticipates winning a 61-59 majority in the confidence vote Sunday, after wavering Yamina MK Nir Orbach said earlier Tuesday that he would back the new coalition.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party approved a motion to reserve three open spots on the party’s electoral slate. This was a last-ditch bid to entice members of right-wing parties in the change bloc to oppose the proposed government in exchange for a guaranteed spot on the Likud roster in the next election.

We pray things turn around.

Source:
Change bloc chiefs meet to iron out wrinkles as Likud steps up hunt for rebels, by Raoul Wootliff/Times of Israel, June 9, 2021

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Defense Minister Benny Gantz to delay the evacuation of the Samaria community of Evyatar until next week. Next week is when the next government is to be sworn in.

Sources in Judea and Samaria say the move is designed to prevent one of the last acts of Netanyahu’s government to be the destruction of a Jewish community.

Netanyahu prefers to hand over the decision to the designated prime minister, Naftali Bennett. Bennett is not expected to rush the order to demolish Evyatar, to either regulate the community or find a solution for the dozens of families who have moved to the new community near the Tapuach junction.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Netanyahu that he does not require anyone’s permission to evacuate the town of Evyatar in Samaria.

While the politicians take political jabs at each other, the potential demolition of Evyatar represents the loss of another Jewish community built on legally owned Jewish Sovereign land. When will Sovereignty be declared? The fact that all of Judea and Samaria is still under Civil Administration leaves us concerned for Israel’s future.

Sources:
Netanyahu asks Gantz to delay demolition of Evyatar until next week, by Arutz Sheva Staff, June 9, 2021

Benny Gantz: ‘I don’t need anyone’s approval to evacuate town of Evyatar’, by Orly Harari/Arutz Sheva, June 10, 2021

 

 

 

 

The details of the coalition agreements publicized in the media Monday evening reveal that Naftali Bennett and Gideon Saar are “not only failing to provide solutions but are exacerbating the problem,” with regard to governance in the Negev, the Regavim Movement warned.

Bennett and Saar have pledged in the coalition agreements to approach the Attorney General and demand that he cancel all fines and sanctions on illegal Arab construction. The agreement also calls for the freezing of enforcement against illegal construction for almost four years, and the freezing of the existing demolition orders for all illegal structures in the Negev that were built until the beginning of 2021. Mansour Abbas, head of the Islamist Raam party and a member of the emerging coalition, will be appointed a deputy minister and will receive half a billion shekels for distribution at his discretion. (Sound Kosher to you?)

Furthermore, the coalition agreements place both the Bedouin Settlement Authority and the Knesset’s Interior Committee, the key actors on the Negev issue, under the complete control of the left-wing bloc and Raam.

“Aside from approving the whitewashing of thousands of illegal structures on about 11,000 dunams of land to create ‘three new communities,’ the coalition agreements do not stipulate what will happen to the rest of the illegal Bedouin squatters’ camps nine months from now, and neither Bennett’s Yemina Party nor Saar’s New Hope Party will have the ability to influence the outcome in a government kept afloat by Mansour Abbas and the Islamist Raam Party,” Regavim stated.

Regavim has repeatedly warned that the state has lost its grip in the south and sovereignty in the southern region of Israel has been relinquished to an autonomous entity established by the Bedouins in the Negev. More and more illegal enclaves continue to spring up throughout the territory – and all the while, the Israeli government continues to turn a blind eye.

Source:
New Govt. Coalition Agreement Abandons Negev, Org Warns, by Aryeh Savir/TPS, June 8, 2021

 

 

Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin formally notified the parliament on Monday that Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid has succeeded in forming a new power-sharing government within the time allotted to him by President Reuven Rivlin. However, he didn’t give a date for the swearing-in, which must by law take place no later than June 14.

The move was widely seen as an indication that Levin is trying to delay the swearing-in as much as possible in order to give the premier’s allies time to foil the coalition by persuading prospective right-wing members to jump ship. Levin is a loyalist of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Likud party.

Israel’s new government is facing a crisis of legitimacy Naftali Bennet’s party won only 6% of the vote. He is set to take the reins of government, while the party that won the most votes is being pushed out of office and into opposition. The crisis is exacerbated by the fact that Bennett betrayed most of his promises to his voters, including a pledge not to govern with Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, or with Arab parties. Let’s not forget that several Yamina members like MK Ayelet Shaked, are under heavy security due to public outrage and death threats over forming an alliance with the Arab Ra’am Party. The public outrage is such that Israel’s security officials are worried it will turn violent. Critics on the right of the political spectrum are being silenced. Why?

If a vote is reached to swear-in Bennett and Lapid, what is on the horizon for the Israeli people? Getting ready for change is always a challenge but facing the prospect of concessions to Arabs and a loss of Sovereignty of the land and its people hang over Israel now like a dark cloud. With this entire process in crisis, can the Bennett – Lapid government really be called a Unity Party?

Sources:
Buying time for Netanyahu, speaker declares Lapid coalition but doesn’t set vote, by Michael Bachner/Times of Israel, June 6, 2021

What sort of government are Lapid and Bennett forming?, by Caroline Glick/Jewish News Syndicate, June 7, 2021

Benjamin Netanyahu Calls New Israeli Government ‘Biggest Election Scam, Maybe, in History’, by Joel B. Pollak/Breitbart, June 6, 2021